Arizona schools to be test grounds for Frank Lloyd Wright curriculum

By Joe Gilmore | January 29, 2018 at 2:34 pmUPDATED: January 29, 2018 at 8:56 pm

(AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

PHOENIX — This fall, 25 classrooms in the Paradise Valley Unified School District will be the testing grounds for a new curriculum created by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation.

Currently under development, the education program will be aimed toward elementary to high schoolers and would connect math, art, science and architecture to give kids a creative outlet in the classroom.

The foundation hopes that the legacy of the architectural icon, who spent half his time in Arizona, would continue to live on through this program.

“Using his legacy to inspire kids [is] an important role for a cultural foundation,” said Stuart Graff, the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation president and CEO, told Curbed.com. “Science and math aren’t going to be boring to these kids. A few of them will go on to be architects, engineers, designers and scientists.”

The foundation has run a series of camps with similar educational programs in Wisconsin but wants to update these lesson plans to impact grades K-12.

It planned to offer core lessons for free with additional materials available for a small fee.

The education plan will center around spatial and organic architecture and structure design with difficulty adjusted to grade level.

“We want to tap into the curiosity that kids have and give them an understanding of the world around them,” said Graff.